 | Wall Street Journal
Stop and Taste the Candies
May 11, 2012
People rush through experiences because they don't realize that slowing down consumption leads to more pleasure, a study finds.
Slow Down! Insensitivity to Rate of Consumption Leads to Avoidable Satiation
by Jeff Galak, Justin Kruger, George Loewenstein |
 | Wall Street Journal
Psychology Study: For Enjoyment, Slow Down
May 10, 2012
People rush through experiences not necessarily because they lack self-control but because they simply don’t realize that slowing down consumption leads to more pleasure, a study finds.
Slow Down! Insensitivity to Rate of Consumption Leads to Avoidable Satiation
by Jeff Galak, Justin Kruger, George Loewenstein |
 | Forbes
Increase The Odds Of Creativity
May 9, 2012
Another finding, this time by the Journal of Consumer Research, and presented in this article on Gigaom.com, is that the distractions available with the steady hum of a coffee shop can enhance creativity. It has to do with a perfect level of distraction that keeps your mind from getting too focused, and allows your mind to maintain a level of abstraction where ideas in your head are more likely to collide. I find it wildly interesting that being slightly distracted is good for creativity.
Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition
by Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Amar Cheema |
 | Psychology Today
You've Been Framed!
May 4, 2012
Not surprisingly, research has shown the effect of framing to lessen once the product has been consumed (Levin & Gaeth, 1988). This means that an initial purchase may be influenced by framing much more than re-purchasing decisions. (We’re all familiar with the saying “Fool me once, …”!)
How Consumers are Affected by the Framing of Attribute Information Before and After Consuming the Product
by Irwin P. Levin, Gary J. Gaeth |
 | Wall Street Journal
The Urge to Splurge
April 27, 2012
Our mental accounting goes awry when we try to keep track of "exceptional expenses"—partly because splurges are far less rare than we think.
The Exception Is the Rule: Underestimating and Overspending on Exceptional Expenses
by Abigail B. Sussman, Adam L. Alter |
 | Wall Street Journal
The Economics of Celebratory Dinners
April 26, 2012
A new study suggests that I am a victim of a very common mental-accounting error involving “exceptional expenses”—which aren’t, crucially, as exceptional as we want to think. Abigail B. Sussman, a doctoral candidate at Princeton, and Adam L. Alter, an assistant professor of marketing at New York University’s business school, conducted several experiments to explore how people think about “unusual and infrequent” expenditures.
The Exception Is the Rule: Underestimating and Overspending on Exceptional Expenses
by Abigail B. Sussman, Adam L. Alter |
 | Psychology Today
I Will Have What She's Having: Feeling Left Out and Buying Social Acceptance.
April 22, 2012
The researchers (Nicole Mead, Roy Baumeister, Tyler Stillman, Catherine Rawn, and Kathleen Vohs) hypothesized that when you are feeling left out -- socially excluded -- you are far more likely to buy the wrist bands with your university logo than you normally would. Why? Because the university logo wrist bands will make you feel like you belong to something, and after being snubbed, your top priority is to feel like you belong again. And the researchers were correct (read their study here); participants who thought they had been dumped for personal reasons were more likely to want to buy items that demonstrated their belonging to the group. In a different experiment, when snubbed participants were paired with someone else who reported to love chicken feet, snubbed participants were significantly more likely to order chicken feet.
Social Exclusion Causes People to Spend and Consume Strategically in the Service of Affiliation
by Mead, Baumeister, Stillman, Rawn, and Vohs |
| Date | News Item | Article Mentioned |
| May 10 | Optimists May Trust Salespeople More
The British Psychological Society | The Optimistic Trust Effect: Use of Belief in a Just World to Cope with Decision-Generated Threat
Andrew E. Wilson, Peter R. Darke |
| May 5 | When To Trust Your Gut
The Creativity Post | Feeling the Future: The Emotional Oracle Effect
Michel Tuan Pham, Leonard Lee, Andrew T. Stephen |
| May 3 | Personal Finance: The Urge to Splurge
Association for Psychological Science | The Exception Is the Rule: Underestimating and Overspending on Exceptional Expenses
Abigail B. Sussman, Adam L. Alter |
| May 3 | Don't Work in Silence.
Sunny 106.9 | Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition
Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Amar Cheema |
| May 2 | When to trust your gut: How instincts lead to better decisions
WellandGoodNYC.com | Feeling the Future: The Emotional Oracle Effect
Michel Tuan Pham, Leonard Lee, Andrew T. Stephen |
| May 1 | Just say 'I Don't'
HealthyLife | “I Don’t” versus “I Can’t”: When Empowered Refusal Motivates Goal-Directed Behavior
Vanessa M. Patrick, Henrik Hagtvedt |
| May 1 | When To Trust Your Gut
Prevention | Feeling the Future: The Emotional Oracle Effect
Michel Tuan Pham, Leonard Lee, Andrew T. Stephen |
| Apr 30 | Shut Up and Listen
Men\'s Health Magazine | Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition
Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Amar Cheema |
| Apr 26 | What's In A Name? A Lot Of Hints About How You Handle Your Finances
Business Insider | The Last Name Effect: How Last Name Influences Acquisition Timing
Carlson and Conard |
| Apr 26 | The hype is hard to resist.
MSN Canada | The Biasing Health Halos of Fast-Food Restaurant Health Claims: Lower Calorie Estimates and Higher Side-Dish Consumption Intentions
Pierre Chandon, Brian Wansink |
| Apr 26 | Why does simply trusting your feelings lead to much better predictions?
Brain Mysteries | Feeling the Future: The Emotional Oracle Effect
Michel Tuan Pham, Leonard Lee, Andrew T. Stephen |
| Apr 26 | Researcher explores the 'word of mouth' paradox
Brain Mysteries | Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid:
How Word of Mouth Influences the Storyteller
Sarah G. Moore |
| Apr 26 | Sticking to our goals: What's the best approach for success?
Brain Mysteries | The Small-Area Hypothesis: Effects of Progress Monitoring on Goal Adherence
Minjung Koo, Ayelet Fishbach |
| Apr 25 | Too much information: When does adding mildly favorable details dilute the big message?
Brain Mysteries | The Presenter\'s Paradox
Kimberlee Weaver, Stephen M. Garcia, Norbert Schwartz |
| Apr 22 | Even pros choke under pressure
Boston.com | Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition
Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Amar Cheema |
| Apr 22 | High End Labels Provide Comfort to “Neglected” Women Read more: High End Labels Provide Comfort to “Neglected” Women
MedIndia | Social Exclusion Causes People to Spend and Consume Strategically in the Service of Affiliation
Mead, Baumeister, Stillman, Rawn, and Vohs |
| Apr 21 | Rose-colored glasses: Are optimistic consumers more likely to trust salespeople?
Cowboy Economics | The Optimistic Trust Effect: Use of Belief in a Just World to Cope with Decision-Generated Threat
Andrew E. Wilson, Peter R. Darke |
| Apr 20 | How does the global financial crisis affect consumer decision making?
Cowboy Economics | Financial Deprivation Prompts Consumers to Seek Scarce Goods
Eesha Sharma, Adam L. Alter |
| Apr 20 | I’ll just have what you’re having: On feeling left out and buying our way back in
Beyond the Purchase | Social Exclusion Causes People to Spend and Consume Strategically in the Service of Affiliation
Mead, Baumeister, Stillman, Rawn, and Vohs |
| Apr 20 | It’s Better to Aim High and have Something, than to Aim Low and have Nothing.
Arbitrage Magazine | Attaining Satisfaction.
Cecile K. Cho, Gita Venkataramani Johar |
| Apr 19 | Two Magic Words That Break Temptation
Yahoo! Health | “I Don’t” versus “I Can’t”: When Empowered Refusal Motivates Goal-Directed Behavior
Vanessa M. Patrick, Henrik Hagtvedt |
| Apr 18 | 'Overlooked' women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
newKerala | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |
| Apr 18 | To Build A Better Workspace
NPR Boston - WBUR 90.9 | Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition
Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Amar Cheema |
| Apr 18 | 'Overlooked' women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
SouthAsiaNews.com | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |
| Apr 18 | 'Overlooked' women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
ANI News | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |
| Apr 18 | Does background noise make you more or less creative?
Business Insider | Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition
Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Amar Cheema |
| Apr 18 | 'Overlooked' women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
Sify News | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |
| Apr 18 | `Overlooked` women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
India Vision | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |
| Apr 18 | 'Overlooked' women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
Newstrack India | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |
| Apr 18 | America Likes Its Fast Food Salty and Supersized
Delish | Super Size Me: Product Size as a Signal of Status
David Dubois, Derek D. Rucker, Adam D. Galinsky |
| Apr 18 | ‘Overlooked’ women splurge on expensive labels to garner attention
TruthDive | Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation
Jaehoon Lee, L. J. Shrum |